(Trinidad Guardian) Technology giant Mastercard has announced its partnership with WiPay, building on its strategic plan to evolve and develop its presence in the Caribbean.
A statement from the company said this “ground breaking partnership” is prime to reap significant gains for the region, noting that both companies will collaborate to drive greater financial inclusion in the islands through a suite of payment and acceptance solutions.
As a part of the partnership, WiPay will:
• Leverage Mastercard’s Bank in the Box solution to empower SMEs through card acceptance. Bank in the Box is an end to end solution for SMEs that do not accept card payments and that are not financially included
• Partner with a local financial institution who will issue a Mastercard prepaid card, to strengthen local digital ecosystems and facilitate seamless, fast, and transparent disbursements of funds for SMEs and citizens..
• Leverage payment solutions for government programmes, including:
CourtPay—to facilitate court maintenance disbursements such as child support,
GovPay—to facilitate public help services,
Digital ID—EMV Card for Digital Identification and Disbursements,
Speaking about the partnership, Marcelo Tangioni, Mastercard’s Caribbean Division President said the company found in WiPay a knowledgeable partner to bring its vision to life.
He said Mastercard was also excited to bring these robust solutions to the market.
“This important partnership builds on our commitment to lead the journey towards developing smarter islands and cashless societies to strengthen economies and increase financial inclusion throughout the region.
“This partnership is huge for the Caribbean as it allows WiPay to accelerate financial inclusion by delivering innovative financial products to the unbanked and underbanked of the region,” Tangioni added.
Aldwyn Wayne WiPay’s CEO explained on a macro level, the partnership enables WIPay’s regional settlement network to run on Mastercard’s payment rails, improving the ease of doing business in the Caribbean, particularly within the CARICOM Single Market and Economy region (CSME).
The collaborative solutions will launch in Jamaica and T&T initially, with roll-outs in Grenada, Guyana, Dominica, Barbados, St Kitts, St Lucia, St Vincent, and in the Bahamas, among others in the near future.
Mastercard is a technology company in the global payments industry.
Its global payments processing network connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments, and businesses in over 210 countries and territories.
WiPay is headquartered in Trinidad & Tobago with operations in Jamaica, Guyana and St. Lucia and soon to be launched in the wider Caribbean region.
